Apple's self-driving car can be much different than we think – BGR

A slightly curious report from Germany claims that Apple has not left work to develop its own branded car. Even more bizarre, however, is a treat, that Apple's long rumored electric car may not be a car at all, but rather an electric van.

Originally posted to German-language Manager Magazin it reports claiming that Apple has been concerned with working with van prototypes as it continues to use R&D resources that examine a wide variety of auto-related components, from battery technology for advanced electric motors.

"Apple engineers have designed black and silver paint samples, designed in the typical industrial design of the iPhone group," the report adds. "Apple also examines its own batteries, electric motors, special seats and interior components."

While many Apple rumors should be seen with a healthy dose of skepticism, this particular rumor is particularly difficult to believe. Recall, the report comes just a few weeks after it was discovered that Apple cut up 200 employees from the Project Titan company's automotive initiative. In addition, more credible sources in recent months have relayed that Apple's focus in the automotive industry has shifted from releasing a branded car and is now focused only on developing self-propelled technology.

In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook said so much during an interview in 201

7.

"We focus on autonomous systems," Cook said during an interview with Bloomberg . "It's a core technology we see as very important. It's probably one of the most difficult AI projects to work on."

Meanwhile, the renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo remains confident that an Apple branded car can still be in the work and can beat the streets as early as 2025. Should Kuo prove to be right and it is huge if it is difficult to imagine that Apple is as stupid as actually getting into the hyper-competitive car industry with an electric van of all things.

Finally, and in a related note, Apple yesterday released a remarkably short white paper describing its ongoing efforts in autopilot technologies.